Officers involved in fatal shootings back on duty

Sept. 6, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Genevieve Huizar, mother of Manuel Diaz, looks at a photo of her son during a news conference at the Orange County Superior Court on July 25 in Santa Ana, as her daughter, Correna Chavez, right, stands by her. Diaz was shot and killed by Anaheim police on July 21. FILE PHOTO: MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Mourners gather on July 23 at a memorial on Anna Drive in Anaheim for Manuel Angel Diaz, 25, who was shot and killed by Anaheim police two days earlier. FILE PHOTO: LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Maria Lara, who said she was a good friend of Manuel Diaz, sketches a picture of an Aztec dancer. Diaz was killed in an officer-involved shooting and Lara has spend several nights sleeping at his memorial site, finding it hard to leave him alone, she said. FILE PHOTO: MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Anaheim police Chief John Welter discusses the police shootings and protests in Anaheim during a July interview. FILE PHOTO: MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Firefighters from the city of Anaheim put out a dumpster fire set by demonstrators who were protesting the Anaheim Police Department's shooting of Manuel Diaz on July 21. FILE PHOTO: STUART PALLEY, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Genevieve Huizar, center, the mother of Manuel Diaz, is supported by relatives as they march down Anna Drive in Anaheim. Diaz's stepfather, John Huizar, is at left. FILE PHOTO: LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Genevieve Huizar, mother of Manuel Diaz, looks at a photo of her son during a news conference at the Orange County Superior Court on July 25 in Santa Ana, as her daughter, Correna Chavez, right, stands by her. Diaz was shot and killed by Anaheim police on July 21. FILE PHOTO: MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

ANAHEIM – Two Anaheim police officers involved in two separate fatal shootings in July that sparked protests have returned to duty, police said.

The officers returned to the streets within two weeks of the back-to-back shootings after they underwent a psychological examination and officials reviewed the preliminary facts of two investigations, one internal and the other by the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

"If there's any indication at all that the officer may have violated the law or presented a danger to the public, then we wouldn't put him or her back to work," said Anaheim Police Chief John Welter, who decides whether or not an officer involved in a shooting should be cleared to return to duty.

"I will always make that decision in the best interest of the public's safety," Welter said, adding that assigning an officer to long-term desk duty without cause could be detrimental to the officer's well-being and to the morale of the department.

The officers, who were on paid leave since the July 21 and July 22 shootings, have not been publicly identified because they have received death threats, Welter said.

The officers will be identified when the District Attorney's Office completes the investigations, which can take up to 10 months or longer.

Manuel Diaz, 25, of Santa Ana was shot and killed by Anaheim police on July 21 in a residential alleyway on the 700 block of North Anna Drive. Police have said Diaz was a known gang member and was running from authorities before he was shot.

The next night, as protests flared in the Anna neighborhood, a gang investigator tried to pull over a stolen car a few miles away, then chased a man who got out and fled. Police said the man, later identified as Joel Mathew Acevedo, also a convicted gang member, fired at officers during the foot chase; the investigator shot back, killing him. A police photograph later showed a handgun lying near his body.

Diaz's mother, Genevieve Huizar, was outraged and in tears upon finding out that the officer who killed her son was back at work, said attorney Dana Douglas, whose firm filed a $50 million lawsuit on behalf of Manuel Diaz's family against Anaheim and the Anaheim Police Department alleging federal civil rights violations and wrongful death.

"She was in tears," Douglas said. "This is the opposite of justice ... and this is raising the level of tension between the police and the community."

Douglas said Diaz, who grew up on Anna Drive, was not a gang member and was wrongfully killed by police.

"This kid grew up on mean streets. He is a product of the neighborhood but was not a gang member," Douglas said. "He never had a gun or drugs and did not deserve to die."

Douglas plans to amend the lawsuit on Monday to add more claims and to name the officer who shot and killed Diaz.

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